WTHR Review

There's a fine line between form and function. Every developer who puts a premium on design inevitably faces tough choices along the way, sacrificing features and usability for the sake of retaining their vision. Like its name suggests, WTHR is a minimalist reinterpretation of Apple's Weather app, offering the current temperature and conditions alongside a 7-day forecast. As a Dieter Rams-inspired design project, it hits on many of his 10 principles, with a pure, clean aesthetic that practically begs you to touch it.

WTHR keeps things simple, however, offering little interaction and just two buttons: one switches from Fahrenheit to Celsius, with another that updates the data. A keen dial spins during a refresh, and it looks so good, you'll want to spin it yourself (you can't).

It's clear that WTHR was developed with an attention to detail (even the icons are a refreshing change from the usual), but it's not all sunny here. The app relies exclusively on GPS, so multiple locations are out of the question, and there are no hourly forecasts. It doesn't even know what time of day it is, so if you check WTHR at two in the morning, it might tell you it's sunny. The developer says an update is on its way to address these glaring omissions, but that doesn't make the app feel any more complete.

The bottom line. It looks fantastic, but a better name for WTHR might have been WNDW, since it's about as useful as looking outside.